• Journal of the Korean Association of Geographic Information Studies
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.81-99
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• 2015

The acceleration of global warming has required better understanding of carbon cycles over local and regional areas such as the Korean peninsula. Since forests serve as a carbon sink, which stores a large amount of terrestrial carbon, there has been a demand to accurately estimate such forest carbon sequestration. In Korea, the National Forest Inventory(NFI) has been used to estimate the forest carbon stocks based on the amount of growing stocks per hectare measured at sampled location. However, as such data are based on point(i.e., plot) measurements, it is difficult to identify spatial distribution of forest carbon stocks. This study focuses on urban areas, which have limited number of NFI samples and have shown rapid land cover change, to estimate grid-based forest carbon stocks based on UNFCCC Approach 3 and Tier 3. Land cover change and forest carbon stocks were estimated using Landsat 5 TM data acquired in 1991, 1992, 2010, and 2011, high resolution airborne images, and the 3rd, 5th~6th NFI data. Machine learning techniques(i.e., random forest and support vector machines/regression) were used for land cover change classification and forest carbon stock estimation. Forest carbon stocks were estimated using reflectance, band ratios, vegetation indices, and topographical indices. Results showed that 33.23tonC/ha of carbon was sequestrated on the unchanged forest areas between 1991 and 2010, while 36.83 tonC/ha of carbon was sequestrated on the areas changed from other land-use types to forests. A total of 7.35 tonC/ha of carbon was released on the areas changed from forests to other land-use types. This study was a good chance to understand the quantitative forest carbon stock change according to the land cover change. Moreover the result of this study can contribute to the effective forest management.

• Atmosphere
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.61-72
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• 2023

Accurate estimation of forest carbon stocks is important in establishing greenhouse gas reduction plans. In this study, we estimate the spatial distribution of forest carbon stocks using machine learning techniques based on high-resolution remote sensing data and detailed field survey data. The high-resolution remote sensing data used in this study are Landsat indices (EVI, NDVI, NDII) for monitoring vegetation vitality and Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) data for describing topography. We also used the forest growing stock data from the National Forest Inventory (NFI) for estimating forest biomass. Based on these data, we built a model based on machine learning methods and optimized for Korean forest types to calculate the forest carbon stocks per grid unit. With the newly developed estimation model, we created forest carbon stocks maps and estimated the forest carbon stocks in South Korea. As a result, forest carbon stock in South Korea was estimated to be 432,214,520 tC in 2020. Furthermore, we estimated the loss of forest carbon stocks due to the Donghae-Uljin forest fire in 2022 using the forest carbon stock map in this study. The surrounding forest destroyed around the fire area was estimated to be about 24,835 ha and the loss of forest carbon stocks was estimated to be 1,396,457 tC. Our model serves as a tool to estimate spatially distributed local forest carbon stocks and facilitates accounting of real-time changes in the carbon balance as well as managing the LULUCF part of greenhouse gas inventories.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.106 no.2
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• pp.267-273
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• 2017

This study was conducted to construct a empirical yield table for Pinus densiflora in real forest. Since existing normal yield tables have been derived by studying and analyzing communities in ideal environment for tree growth, those tables provide more over-estimated values than ones from real forest. Because of this, there are some difficulties to apply the tables to empirical forest except for normal forest. In this study, therefore, we estimated stand growth for real forest on P. densiflora as the representative species of conifers. We used 1,957 sample plot data of P. densiflora in central Korea from National Forest Inventory (NFI) system, and analyzed through estimation, recovery and prediction in order by using Weibull function as a diameter distribution model. Weilbull and Schumacher models were applied for estimating mean DBH and mean basel area and it was found that the site index for P. densiflora in central Korea ranges from 8 to 14 at reference age 30. According to site 12 in the stand yield table, the Mean Annual Increment (MAI) of P. densiflora was $4.42m^3/ha$ at 30 years of age. Compared to existing volume table constructed before, it is showed that MAI of this study were lower. According to the paired t-test that is conducted with the gap of volume values between normal forest and real forest by site index and age, the P-value was less than 0.001 which is recognized to have a statistically significant difference. Based on the results in this study, it is considered to be helpful for practical management and management policy on P. densiflora in central Korea.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Geographic Information Studies
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.69-85
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• 2014

Carbon stocks of NFI plots can be accurately estimated using field survey information. However, an accurate estimation of carbon stocks in other unsurveyed sites is very difficult. In order to fill this gap, various spatial information can be used as an ancillary data. In South Korea, there is the 1:5,000 forest type map that was produced by digital air-photo interpretation and field survey. Because this map contains very detailed forest information, it can be used as the high-quality spatial data for estimating carbon stocks. In this study, we compared three upscaling methods based on the 1:5,000 forest type map and 5th national forest inventory data. Map algebra(method 1), RK(Regression Kriging)(method 2), and GWR(Geographically Weighted Regression)(method 3) were applied to estimate forest carbon stock in Chungcheong-nam Do and Daejeon metropolitan city. The range of carbon stocks from method 2(1.39~138.80 tonC/ha) and method 3(1.28~149.98 tonC/ha) were more similar to that of previous method(1.56~156.40 tonC/ha) than that of method 1(0.00~93.37 tonC/ha). This result shows that RK and GWR considering spatial autocorrelation can show spatial heterogeneity of carbon stocks. We carried out paired t-test for carbon stock data using 186 sample points to assess estimation accuracy. As a result, the average carbon stocks of method 2 and field survey method were not significantly different at p=0.05 using paired t-test. And the result of method 2 showed the lowest RMSE. Therefore regression kriging method is useful to consider spatial variations of carbon stocks distribution in rugged terrain and complex forest stand.

• Journal of agriculture & life science
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• v.53 no.6
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• pp.23-33
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• 2019

In accordance with a change in the management information system containing the management record and planning for the entire national forest in South Korea by an amendment of the relevant law (The national forest management planning and methods, Korea Forest Service), in this study, average, the maximum, and the minimum values for DBH were presented while only average values were required before the amendment. In this regard, there is a need for an estimation algorithm by which all the existing values for DBH established before the revision can be converted to the highest and the lowest ones. The purpose of this study is to develop an estimation equation to automatically show the minimum and the maximum values for DBH for 12 main tree species from the data in the national forest management information system. In order to develop the estimation equation for the minimum and the maximum values for DBH, there was exploited the 6,858 fixed sample plots of the fifth and the sixth national forest inventory between in 2006 and 2015. Two estimation models were applied for DBH-tree age and DHB-tree height using such growth variables as DBH, tree age, and height, to draw the estimation equation for the maximum and the minimum values for DBH. The findings showed that the most suitable model to estimate the minimum and the maximum values for DBH was Dmin=a+bD+cH, Dmax=a+bD+cH with the variables of DBH and height. Based on these optimal models, the estimation equation was devised for the minimum and the maximum values for DBH for the 12 main tree species.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.113 no.1
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• pp.40-50
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• 2024

Pine forests are continuously declining due to competition with broadleaf trees, such as oaks, as a consequence of changes in the natural dynamics of forest ecosystem. This natural decline creates a risk of losing the various benefits pine trees have provided to people in the past. Therefore, it is necessary to prepare future forest management directions by considering the state of pine tree decline in each region. The goal of this study is to understand the characteristics of pine forest changes according to forest dynamics and to predict future regional changes. For this purpose, we evaluated the trend of change in pine forests and extracted various variables(topography, forest stand type, disturbance, and climate) that affect the change, using time-series National Forest Inventory (NFI) data. Also, using selected key variables, a model was developed to predict future changes in pine forests. As a results, it showed that the importance of pine trees in forests across the country has decreased overall over the past 10 years. Also, 75% of the sample points representing pine trees remained unchanged, while the remaining 25% had changed to mixed forests. It was found that these changes mainly occurred in areas with good moisture conditions or disturbance factors inside and outside the forest. In the next 10 years, approximately 14.2% of current pine forests was predicted to convert to mixed forests due to changes in natural forest dynamics. Regionally, the rate of pine forest change was highest in Jeju(42.8%) and Gyeonggi(26.9%) and lowest in Gyeongbuk(8.8%) and Gangwon(13.8%). It was predicted that pine forests would be at a high risk of decline in western areas of the Korean Peninsula, including Gyeonggi, Chungcheong, and Jeonnam. This results can be used to make a management plan for pine forests throughout the country.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.106 no.2
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• pp.249-257
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• 2017

This study was conducted to analyze the relationship between tree-ring growth of Pinus densiflora and climate factors based on national forest inventory(NFI) data. Annual tree-ring growth data of P. densiflora collected by the $5^{th}$ NFI were first organized to analyze yearly growth patterns of the species. Yearly growing degree days and standard precipitation index based on daily mean temperature and precipitation data from 1951 to 2010 were calculated. Using the information, yearly temperature effect index(TEI) and precipitation effect index(PEI) were estimated to analyze the effect of climate conditions on the tree-ring growth of the species. A tree-ring growth estimation equation appropriate for P. densiflora was then developed by using the TEI and PEI as independent variables. The tree-ring growth estimation equation was finally applied to the climate change scenarios of RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5 for predicting the changes in tree-ring growth of P. densiflora from 2011 to 2100. The results indicate that tree-ring growth of P. densiflora is predicted to be decreased over time when the tree-ring growth estimation equation is applied to the climate change scenarios of RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5. It is predicted that the decrease of tree-ring growth over time is relatively small when RCP 4.5 is applied. On the other hand, the steep decrease of tree-ring growth was found in the application of RCP 8.5, especially after the year of 2050. The results of this study are expected to provide valuable information necessary for estimating local growth characteristics of P. densiflora and for predicting changes in tree-ring growth patterns caused by climates change.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.287-297
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• 2016

This study aims to identify the relationship between climatic factors and stand mean Diameter at Breast Height (DBH) for two major tree species; Pinus densiflora and Quercus mongolica in Andong-dam basin. Forest variables such as age, diameter distribution and number of trees per hectare from the $5^{th}$ and $6^{th}$ National Forest Inventory data were used to develop a DBH estimation model. Climate data were collected from six meteorological observatory station and twelve Automatic Weather System provided by Korea Meteorological Administration to produce interpolated daily average temperature map with Inverse Distance Weighting (IDW) method. Andong-dam basin reflects rugged mountainous terrain, so temperature were adjusted by lapse rate based correction. As a result, predictions of model were consistent with the previous studies; that the rising temperature is negatively related to the growth of Pinus densiflora whereas opposing trend is observed for Quercus mongolica.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.46-54
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• 2021

This study compared and analyzed the effects of forest tending works on the vertical distribution of wildfire fuel loads on Pinus densiflora stands in Gyeongbuk province. The study sites were located in Youngju and Bonghwa in Pinus densiflora stands. A total of 10 sample trees were collected for the development of the crown fuel vertical distribution model. The 6th NFI (National Forest Inventory) selected a sample point that only extracted from managed and unmanaged stands of Pinus densiflora in the Gyeongbuk province. The fitness index (F.I.) of the two models developed was 0.984 to 0.989, with the estimated parameter showing statistical significance (P<0.05). A s a results, the vertical distribution of wildfire fuel loads range of unmanaged stands was from 1m to 11m with the largest distribution at point 5m at the tree height. On the other hand, the vertical distribution of wildfire fuel loads range of the managed stands was from 1m to 15m with the largest distribution at the point of 8m at the tree height. The canopy bulk density was 0.16kg/㎥ for the managed stands and 0.25kg/㎥ for the unmanaged stands, unmanaged stands were about 1.6 times more than managed stands. This result is expected to be available for simulation through the implementation of the 3D model as crown fuel was analyzed in three dimensions.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.35-44
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• 2015

Forests contain a huge amount of carbon (C) and climate change could affect forest C dynamics. This study was conducted to predict the C dynamics of Pinus densiflora and Quercus variabilis forests, which are the most dominant needleleaf and broadleaf forests in Korea, using the Korean Forest Soil Carbon (KFSC) model under the two climate change scenarios (2012-2100; Constant Temperature (CT) scenario and Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 8.5 scenario). To construct simulation unit, the forest land areas for those two species in the 5th National Forest Inventory (NFI) data were sorted by administrative district and stand age class. The C pools were initialized at 2012, and any disturbance was not considered during the simulation period. Although the forest C stocks of two species generally increased over time, the forest C stocks under the RCP 8.5 scenario were less than those stocks under the CT scenario. The C stocks of P. densiflora forests increased from 260.4 Tg C in 2012 to 395.3 (CT scenario) or 384.1 Tg C (RCP 8.5 scenario) in 2100. For Q. variabilis forests, the C stocks increased from 124.4 Tg C in 2012 to 219.5 (CT scenario) or 204.7 (RCP 8.5 scenario) Tg C in 2100. Compared to 5th NFI data, the initial value of C stocks in dead organic matter C pools seemed valid. Accordingly, the annual C sequestration rates of the two species over the simulation period under the RCP 8.5 scenario (65.8 and $164.2g\;C\;m^{-2}\;yr^{-1}$ for P. densiflora and Q. variabilis) were lower than those values under the CT scenario (71.1 and $193.5g\;C\;m^{-2}\;yr^{-1}$ for P. densiflora and Q. variabilis). We concluded that the C sequestration potential of P. densiflora and Q. variabilis forests could be decreased by climate change. Although there were uncertainties from parameters and model structure, this study could contribute to elucidating the C dynamics of South Korean forests in future.